Home Planning and Digest

Wallpaper Repair – I

Joshua — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 09:06:00 +0000

Many wallpaper repair jobs require patching with a matching piece of wallpaper. For this reason, when installing wallpaper, it’s always a good idea to save some for repairs!
As wallpaper ages, it tears, its edges work loose, and bubbles appear beneath the paper. Although much contemporary wallpaper is washable, older papers may not be and may become dirtier than you can tolerate. Sometimes repair is possible but in other cases the only solution is to patch or replace the damaged wallpaper. Tears and loose edges are part of normal household wear and tear. Bubbles in wallpaper may be an indication that whoever applied it did not use enough glue in some places or use a roller to press it close to the wall. Bubbles may also be an indication of moisture problems in the wall beneath–take a close look before you repair bubbles in wallpaper.

Space savers

Joshua — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 06:02:52 +0000

Unless you’ve got a ten-bedroom mansion, space would most probably be a constant concern. Either you barely have enough or you don’t know what to put in a corner, there’s the constant need to maximize whatever space you have. Of course, “maximizing space” does not necessarily translate to covering every inch of space with something. On the other hand, the challenge is to make use of whatever floor area or nook and cranny is available to minimize clutter while maintaining the balance at home.

So how can you achieve all that? For starters, you can invest in multi-purpose items such as a TV shelf with provisions for video players and even DVDs. Choosing a piece that’s both aesthetic and multi-functional not only saves you money, it also helps make your home better organized.

How about you? Any suggestions on how you can best maximize space?

Photo credits: Chris Scott

Grow Fruit Trees in Your Garden

Joshua — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 19:06:19 +0000

One of the best things that you can do even in your small garden is to grow fruit trees. Fruit trees are both ornamental and useful. They are a sight to behold when they blossom. They provide shade and delicious and nutritious fruits, free from arsenic and other chemicals that are added to fruits in order to extend shelf life.

To enhance the beauty of your home, consider the landscape before choosing the site for planting. You can have one or more trees. The slope of the land and the wind activity in your area should also be considered. Grow fruit trees and experience how they can liven up your home and your life.

Using appliances

Kip V — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 16:13:42 +0000

In using appliances for the first time, read the manual and follow the instructions stated therein. If you think that you already know how to use such appliance, scanning the manual is still advisable since the appliance that you bought might have its own different specification. This is not just to avoid any accident but also to preserve that warranty of the product which you could avail in case the product proved to be actually defective and not because of your negligence. In any case, do not disregard the special instructions for the specific parts of the product.

Make it a habit also of unplugging your appliances especially the heat producing pieces. And if you will be away from home for a long time, unplug all appliances before leaving the house.

Cord extensions

Kip V — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 16:14:26 +0000

Electrical cord extensions are used in the enabling your houseâ€™s outlets to accommodate several appliances at the same time. The use of extension is discouraged because it might overload your power supply, especially its full usage. If your power supply is overloaded, it might catch fire.

So in designing your home, anticipate the appliances that shall be placed in a particular area of your home such that the sufficient number of outlets shall be placed accordingly. If you havenâ€™t anticipated the number of appliances that shall be placed and they had exceeded the number of outlets available, have an additional number of outlets be placed in your home to prevent overloading.

Floor heaters.

editor — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 16:22:07 +0000

You wake up in the morning by the sound of the alarm clock: Oh no, itâ€™s already 9:00! You are late for work. You toss your comforter to the side, wear your slippers that seem to take on forever (yes, normally when youâ€™re in hurry, this happens), and run to the bathroom door. As you step on the tiled flooring, you jump as high as you can because your floorâ€™s temperature is subzero; itâ€™s like having a skating rink inside the bathroom.

If you donâ€™t like this to happen to you anymore, might as well get a floor heater for your bathroom. Floor heaters are specifically designed to give your feet a welcoming warmth. Eliminate those early in the morning jumps and pamper them with a different kind of warmth.

Photo taken from http://www.heatandplumb.com

All about sinks.

editor — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 16:35:45 +0000

Granite countertops for the kitchen and the bathroom are priceless: aside from the fact that they are easy to clean (just wipe them and the dirtâ€™s gone), they provide elegance to any part of the house. But of course, if we are talking about granite countertops for the kitchen and the bathroom, we might as well tackle the fixture that is mostly associated with it: the sink. Cheap, ordinary sinks (cheap but not â€œcheapâ€ looking. Thatâ€™s different) go well with granite counters. It is actually just a matter of how you install these fixtures.

Installation of granite sinks should be under mount. With this, you can hide the edges of the sink, making your washing area more aesthetically pleasing.

Photo taken from http://www.moen.com

Wise Space Investments

Joshua — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 01:36:11 +0000

Having ample space for repairs built into your home is a vital addition to a customized home making it not only a breeze to live in but easy to maintain. You save on costs and you also get less interference with your life that is normally the biggest hurdle of living in a home when things do go bad. Ample crawl-spaces above and below the home is essential for repairs but if it is allowed and can be achieved, why not aim for more space that you can also set-up as additional storage spaces should you deem it necessary. Be sure to make this known to the contractor who should take into account proper waterproofing and stiffening to allow use of such spaces and do not forget proper access provisions. You may end up with a slightly higher bill but it will surely save in future re-makes of your home making it easier for contractors and your family to adapt and work around of.

Space, Something that always seems to be inadequate!

Joshua — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 01:33:26 +0000

In a home you bought already made that is, for people who buy such new homes rarely have control, only to find out they have too much stuff to fit into such a small space as they move in. Scouting for a new home, you should always have a rough list of your biggest furniture and their respective measurements so you do not get surprises along the way. How many times have you had to buy a new bed for the one you already have is too big to fit around the stairs and worse the room you’ll be placing it into. Using measuring tape is best but a simple estimate of the rough size along with a few inches of allowance can mean the difference between an easy move and a hefty wall repair bill due to the hole the big clunky bed left as it hit around the staircase. If you do expect frequent moves invest in high quality furniture you could break down and can be assembled with ease so you do not end up in this predicament frequently. It also saves on the hefty moving fees.

Green Garden Lighting

Joshua — Thu, 07 May 2009 05:48:38 +0000

People love their homes and green thumbs love the gardens that surrounds them as much that they spend hundreds of dollars on plants and the other systems that assures a bounty of flowers, fruits and herbs. Now if you have jumped onto the organic farming bandwagon, why not go a step further with solar garden lights that will surely save a lot in electricity. Tired of those frequent rechargeable battery changes, then why not opt for traditional CFL fixtures with the use of an inverter to get it up to power your garden lights. May they be ambiance or flood lighting, such fixtures can be adapted easy for use of electrically powered LED and CFL lamps. They are green and do not burn out as frequent as traditional incandescent lamps.
pathways and perimeter lights have long been shifted to solar powered lights, some last yet some are simply too poorly designed that they are always sure to fail under normal use. With extreme weather we are getting today, the sensitive electronics and other parts of solar lights will suffer damage. So opt for more robust electrical systems that can use DC or AC as desired. The extra money you spend will make up for itself in terms of power savings in the long run, so get down to your local home depot for some design ideas to get you into the many budding green lighting technologies now available on the market.